A social media battle between Greek Australian comedian Nick Giannopoulos and Nova radio host, Ryan Fisher (Fitzy) came to a boiling end this week, as co-host Michael Wipfli (Wippa) stepped in and apologised on behalf of the radio network.

A private text message to Giannopoulos from Wippa indicated the pair’s remorse and recognition of the fact that the taunting of Giannopoulos had overstepped the line.

“Without question … we overstepped the mark on what was an outdated and exaggerated story,” Wippa said to Giannopoulos.
Giannopoulos posted the text message on his Facebook page on Monday, before removing the post later that day.

The apology here refers to the issue that sparked the feud in 2010, when Giannopoulos was interviewed on a radio show hosted by Fitzy in Adelaide to promote his movie Kings of Mykonos. Giannopoulos refused to participate in a game proposed by the station, whereby audiences would call into the station and Giannopoulos would have to guess if they were ‘wog’ or not before they went on air.

While the interview went ahead without the game, Giannopoulos was met with aggression and verbal attacks from Fitzy.

“I had never been treated with so much disrespect before on live radio,” Giannopoulos wrote in a post on Facebook.

Years later, Giannopoulos felt he was still being targeted by the radio host in a number of unwarranted attacks. Fed up with the long running behaviour of the radio host, Giannopoulos turned to social media to express his irritation, telling fans that he felt Fitzy had had an “ongoing campaign to humiliate and degrade” him at every opportunity that he could.

The apology was welcomed by Giannopoulos, but he said he had requested the message be read live on air and a further $2,000 donation be made to the Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal, which Giannopoulos said he will match. The response of requests has further sparked debate with Facebook followers, with some supporting Giannopoulos’ decision to use the negative issue for positive return, while others believing the requests indicate lack of character.

Giannopoulos has not yet received a response from Fitzy and Wippa.